Monthly Archives: May 2016

Hurricane

“At 5am the wind shifted to the northwest and quickly increased to one of the worst hurricanes any of us had ever experienced. A great cross-sea was running, and the wind simply shrieked as it tore the tops off the … Continue reading

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Very bad lumpy sea

“Heavy westerly swell. Very bad lumpy sea. Stood off for night; wind increasing…” — Frank Worsley

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Savage and horrible…

Various views on South Georgia: “…savage and horrible… the very sides and craggy summits of the lofty Mountains were cased with snow and ice, but the quantity which lay in the Vallies is incredible.” — James Cook, 1776 “This was … Continue reading

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One glimpse

“There, right ahead through a rift in the flying scud our glad but salt-rimmed eyes saw a towering black crag with a lacework of snow around its flank. One glimpse, and it was hidden again. We looked at each other … Continue reading

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So extraordinarily crude

“I looked after dawn in vain for the sun & felt anxious, for my navigation had, perforce, been so extraordinarily crude that we might make a bad landfall. The sky was overcast & the weather misty and foggy…Heavy cross swells … Continue reading

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No limb to the sun

“It was misty, the boat was jumping like a flea, shipping seas fore and aft and there was no “limb” to the sun so I had to observe the centre by guesswork. Astronomically, the limb is the edge of sun … Continue reading

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What if we miss South Georgia?

“Sir E. discussed with me what we would do if thro’ lack of… observations of a heavy series of Sly gales blowing us off course, we missed S. Georgia. The prospect was not attractive. Our water, we knew, would be … Continue reading

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Suffering

“Vincent had for the past week ceased to be an active member of the crew, and I could not easily account for his collapse. Physically he was one of the strongest men in the boat. He was a young man, … Continue reading

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Flew & fussed around

“Then there was a small bird, unknown to me, that appeared always to be in a fussy, bustling state, quite out of keeping with the surroundings. It irritated me. It had practically no tail, and it flitted about vaguely as … Continue reading

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Nothing existed but water

“Shackleton was nearly torn from his seat by the deluge of water that swept over him… “For an instant, nothing existed but water. They couldn’t even tell whether she was upright. But then the instant was over; the wave had … Continue reading

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